2 year old DD to have a small operation - what to expect?

[mckenzie]

It's nothing major, she just needs to have her tear ducts unblocked. Apparently 30 mins in all, 10 mins to put her to sleep, 5-10 mins to do the procedure and another 10 mins to get her fully awake.

I am of the 'forewarned is forarmed' school of thought so if anyone can please tell me what to expect I'd be very grateful (I think).

TIA

I've found with ds ops the worst thing was the starving ( for him ) he was virtually climbing the walls. To put them to sleep they prefer to put in i.v. ( needle in the back of the hand), They will used emela cream. It can be tricky to get access, so with ds they ended up putting a mask over his face and used that. he was very calm we were very calm ( have seen it before though through work) he was quite distressed when he came round ( they normally wait til they wake up then send for the parents to come down from the ward, (much longer op.) but he was screamimg the place down so one of the nurses brought him straight back ( you could hear him in the lift!!!) he fell asleep, then came round an hour later starving, small amount to drink, then eat something. Some children do vomit, he didn't had 2 pieces of toast, weetabix, and 4 bananas!!.came home that evening. hope this helps...

thanks for teh reply louismummy. I'd completely forgotten about the 'nil-by-mouth' side of things. I've had generals myself so not sure why it didn't occur to me. That could be hard as DD asks for milk about 2 mins after waking up

My ds2 had a minor op when he was about 2 years old. It was no problem at all really, except no eating thing. He just didn't understand that part.

thanks Ilanak. I just have to hope DD gets a really early slot huh?

Can i ask another question please?
Should I talk to DD about the operation now so that she knows a bit of what to expect or will she then worry about it? It looks like it's taking place saturday week.

TIA

We had the same problem with milk with my DD1 when she had an op at 2.10 y.o. That was almost the worst part of the day - the tantrum she threw when she was told she couldn't have her milk! She calmed down fairly quickly though...we'd made sure we were ready to go, so we just got her up and in the car.

I had got a book out of the library which we read quite a lot beforehand...it's an Usborne book about going to hospital - a little boy having an op on his ears. DD1 loved it, it became her fave book for a while and I really think it helped prepare her for the day in hospital.

Also, just to warn you, as louismummy said, children can be quite disoriented when they come round from GAs...DD1 was v. upset and out of it for a good half hour or so, but once she was in her bed watching a video, she was much happier.

Best of luck.

DS who is 2.3 has a minor op on Monday. I am so nervous and have been wondering all these things too - so thank you!
Following a friends advice I have bought a play stethoscope from the ELC for DS to take with him. Am hoping a kindly Dr will show him the real thing.
The starving thing is going to be horrible. We have been told to wake him up at 6.30am to give him a drink of water but nothing after that. We then have to drive 40 mins so he really is not going to be happy.

Good luck!

good idea chocshoes. We have some doctors/nurses pretend bits somewhere - I shall dig them out and perhaps get DS to do a bit of role playing with his sister.

And thanks TKBand3 - we usually go to the library on a thursday so I'll look out for that book.

The thing I found hardest (and was very grateful someone had warned me, hence passing this on cos you did ask...) was when my DS was put to sleep, he went from being awake to floppy then so still so quickly, it looked like he had died. As I said, someone had warned me that she'd felt the same with her DC and I thought she'd been a bit tactless, but looking back, was very glad she had said something. I left the room in buckets.

My Ds has the same problem with the starving thing, it was hard as it was late by the time he had his op as the time kept being delayed. The worst for DH ( I wasn't there for that bit) was when he went under the general he fitted quite a lot. They had warned of twitching a bit like you do sometimes when falling asleep , but as he's quite an active physical little boy he had quite an extreme reaction and they had to hold him down to stop him falling off the bed. After the op he was really sleepy as it was past his bed time and they had to wake him to check he was OK and all he wanted to do was to sleep, poor baby. This sounds bad but it was all short lived and all was normal and quite safe. Wishing you all the best for your DD

thanks both of you, especially for the warnings. Years ago I had some wisdom teeth out by general and my mum was sitting in the corridor outside. I was screaming blue murder and my poor mum assumed that the anaesthetic hadn't worked and I was really in terrible pain but actually I was fine but just dreaming. Apparently that too is quite common but one of those things that you don't always get warned about beforehand.

when is she having the op Mckenzie? Do let us know how it goes and I hope it's not too painful for her - or for you!

It's supposed to be next saturday 29th september but i thought I was supposed to hear from the hospital today with the timings etc (when to give last meal, when to give last drink and so on). I hope they call tomorrow as I've got all plans in place now for that date (we don't want to have to drag DS with us).
We still haven't decided whether or not to actually tell DD about the op. What did you do?

ps. I watched the programme on Channel 4 tonight called 'Born to be different' - I will NOT feel sorry for DD, Dh or myself. What those children and their families have to go through constantly is mind blowing. Puts it all into perspective doesn't it?

I would advise having a spare set of going home clothes! My DS had an op and was fine when he came round, ate, got dressed to go home and then threw up all over his clothes! He was 2.3mths.

Not sure what to advise McKenzie, my DS was almost 4 so quite a lot older. We bought him a book about hospitals first, and read that to him before he went in. Didn't say too much until just before he went in, told him he would go to sleep and still be a bit sleepy and maybe a bit sore when he woke up but it would make him better. But really no idea what i would do with a 2 year old. Hopefully someone will come along who has had that experience. If you have a good HV, would be worth asking their advice perhaps? I'd also suggest a nice new toy for when she comes round too, to distract her a bit from any discomfort.

thanks for the tip about the clothes Roundthebend.
A friend is going to lend DD a whole doctors set including gown etc lilolil so I might start doing some role playing with her and take it from there.

me again.
I've just been told that DD's operation will be at 3pm. Because it's only a light general she can eat until 9am and drink until 1pm.
How am i going to get from 9am until 3pm without her wanting food? It's going to be tears isn't it? Do you suppose I can give her milk right up until 1pm? (the official papers from the hospital haven't arrived yet hence asking you guys - I'm sure the answer will be on the papers but I'm being impatient )

TIA

I've just received the hospital letter so now know that milk counts as food and it's only clear fluids than dd can have after that.